Man who fatally stabbed stranger on Kelowna bus charged again after release from prison

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Tyler Newton upon his release from prison earlier this year.

A Kelowna man who fatally stabbed a stranger on a city bus in 2014 is facing new charges, after he completed his jail sentence earlier this year.

Tyler Jack Newton struck a plea deal with the Crown in June 2016 and pleaded guilty to manslaughter, for fatally stabbing 55-year-old Caesar Rosales from behind while the two men rode the No. 8 bus near the Dilworth Shopping Centre on the evening of Oct. 30, 2014.

The killing was entirely unprovoked, and Newton and Rosales had never met prior to the stabbing. Newton was originally charged with second-degree murder, but his manslaughter plea left him with a seven-year sentence, and about 4.5 years left to serve with enhanced pre-custody credit.

Newton's sentence expired in January 2021, and he was released from custody. But it hasn't taken long for the criminal justice to once again catch up to the 31 year old.

According to court documents, Newton was arrested on July 21 and charged with flight from police and dangerous operation of a vehicle in West Kelowna.

Newton was released on $1,000 bail the following day, and he's now scheduled to face trial on the new charges next March.

Prior to completing his manslaughter sentence earlier this year, Newton was released from custody on statutory release in June 2019, and moved to a rooming house that was operated by his ex-girlfriend and mother. Inmates are generally automatically granted statutory release after serving two-thirds of their sentence.

But just two days after his release, he tested positive for methamphetamine and his release was revoked. Newton has been using hard drugs since he was 15, and he was in a state of drug-induced psychosis on the night he killed Rosales. The Parole Board of Canada said he remained “connected to the drug subculture” while he was incarcerated, and he told his parole officer he was “not interested” in treatment for his drug use.

He was released from custody on statutory release once again in June 2020, but on July 15, he once again tested positive for methamphetamine, and he was sent back to jail for the remainder of his sentence.

In an October 2020 assessment, the Parole Board of Canada said Newton was “unwilling and unmotivated to ... engage in interventions to reduce and/or manage [his] risk to reoffend,” and during his incarceration, he was found with a homemade weapon, threatened staff and got in a fight with another inmate.